Airline passengers conscious of the effect of their travel on the environment could try to redress the balance by planting a tree every time they fly.

Treeflights.com is one website that, for a £10 fee, plants a tree in designated forests in Wales to help offset the carbon produced by flights.

It encourages this practice because as well as helping to reduce the level of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere and tackle climate change, the trees become a source of precious wood for future generations.

"The whole world is looking for a solution to the biggest problem we've ever faced," Ru Hartwell, founder of Treeflights, told the Washington Post.

"I seem to have stumbled across something that could help and is easy to understand."

While the long lifecycle of trees means that planting them now will not have an immediate effect, Mr Hartwell states on the website that "the most important thing to understand about tree-planting is that you are not doing it for yourself, but to help people in the future".

Trees available for planting include oak, wild cherry, ash, willow, black poplar and beech trees.

• Gap year travellers 'getting older'
• Travellers directed to unusual lodgings
• Stansted Airport opens terminal extension
• Etihad experiences busiest day ever
• Estonia 'about more than just Tallinn'
• Waterfall installation opens in New York
• Ofcom offers tips on keeping mobile bills down
• Abta: Travel market strong in all sectors
• Bmi planning more Heathrow to Saudi Arabia flights
• France still Europe's top tourism destination